A personal remark by US Vice President JD Vance about his wife Usha’s religion has sparked a wave of criticism from Indian Americans and Hindu groups across the US and India.
Speaking at a faith gathering in Mississippi, Vance said he hoped his wife, who was raised Hindu, would one day join Christianity, though he added that she had full freedom to choose her path.
“Do I hope, eventually, that she is somehow moved by the same thing? Yeah, honestly I do wish that,” he said. “But if she doesn’t, then God says everybody has free will.”
The comment quickly triggered backlash online, with many calling it insensitive and politically calculated. Critics accused Vance of invoking his wife’s faith to appeal to Christian conservative voters, while others viewed it as disrespectful toward her Hindu identity.
Usha Chilukuri Vance, a lawyer of Telugu origin, has often spoken about her Hindu upbringing and the values she inherited from her family. The couple met at Yale Law School and married in 2014 in a ceremony that blended Hindu and Christian traditions. They have three children.
Vance, who converted from Protestantism to Catholicism in 2019, said both he and Usha were agnostic when they met. Their children, he added, attend a Christian school but are free to make their own spiritual choices.
Analysts believe the remark was aimed at reinforcing Vance’s Christian conservative image ahead of the 2026 elections. However, it has also reignited debate over cultural sensitivity and interfaith respect in political life.
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